Such a converter is known from the article "The Mosmarx voltage multiplier" by P. E. K. DONALDSON, published in Electronics and Wireless World. This article notably describes a converter called Cockroft-Walton converter, in which the unidirectional current conducting elements are diodes. When the control signal features an active state, the first capacitor of the i.sup.th elementary cell is charged via the first diode of said cell from the second capacitor of the (i-1).sup.th elementary cell, whereas the second capacitor of the i.sup.th elementary cell is discharged via the first diode of the (i+1).sup.th elementary cell towards the first capacitor of said cell. When the control signal features an inactive state, the first capacitor of each elementary cell is discharged via the second diode towards the second capacitor of this same cell. The diodes generate on their terminals voltage drops that cannot be neglected, particularly when one wishes to realize such a converter in integrated form. The diodes are then formed by transistors whose collectors and bases in the case of bipolar transistors, or whose drains and gates in the case of MOS transistors, are connected together. The voltage drop on the terminals of such a diode is then typically of the order of 0.6 V. As each elementary cell contains two diodes, the cell generates a voltage drop of which the value is of the order of 1.2 V. There is thus a voltage drop of N.(1.2 V) in the whole converter, which renders its use not very advantageous for values of N higher than 2, particularly in "low voltage" applications.
It is an object of the present invention to largely remedy this drawback by proposing a DC voltage converter in which the voltage drops generated by the unidirectional current conducting elements are substantially zero.